Radiance 9-14-07 Polar Bear Express "Special"!

TwitchOR wrote:

Dramaqueen wrote:

Good Morning SPB's. We have a busy day ahead. Dr's appt's this morning then work til 8pm tonight. Somewhere in between I have to do the final packing as we're out of here at 5:45am tomorrow. We'll be back next Thursday and I'm sure I'll have a ton to ketchup. Play nice while I'm gone.

Sheila - Have a good trip. Why is it the day before vacation is always so hectic. I leave for LA tomorrow, so have lots of running around - including buying and mailing a couple of b'day presents and getting the dogs' nails trimmed.

Had my interview with the INS yesterday and I'm now half American. I passed the interview (which took all of 15 minutes) but will not take the oath until after I get back from Vision. So I hope to do that this month in time to get my US passport for Splendour.

Congrats Jean I knew you'd do fine. Have a great cruise. Hope the passport thing works out for you. It'll make things simpler for you I think.

Well all.........all is well here......nice quiet day.......thank goodness........

carpet all vacuumed and mopped up.....chair drying out and carpet will be dry by tomorrow I'm sure.........Very strange.....but I like to think that my guardian angel popped the door open to keep windows from breaking......who knows!

Thanks for all concerns......

Jean......congrats on the first half.........

Bon Voyage to all those sailing..........GREEN here!!

Barb......dolphin swimming.....NOW I REALLY AM JEALOUS.....wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Sheila......YES, tv sucks........I'm spending the evening watching my 'doe' outside eating......

jul

Sheila: Have a wonderful time on the Grandeur and in Hawaii...

DH hosted a dinner party in honor of my b'day tonight at one of my favorite restaurants with 11 of my closest friends, wish y'all could have been there too!
Going to catch some , chat tomorrow...Later, Jill

jillybabes wrote:

Sheila: Have a wonderful time on the Grandeur and in Hawaii...

DH hosted a dinner party in honor of my b'day tonight at one of my favorite restaurants with 11 of my closest friends, wish y'all could have been there too!
Going to catch some , chat tomorrow...Later, Jill

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Sorry I missed this yesterday.

d

Happy Birthday Sis......how did I miss this?!??!!

Happy belated birthday jill.........sounds like you had a nice time...

Be still my heart...FRANCOIS??? Thats too bad you're gonna miss him Patti........I cant believe how LATE late seating is.....wow!!

Jul-sounds like you have everything coming back together,......glad it wasnt worse.........

Guess Sheila is headed this way by now.......

Congrats jean on your new status......Im not sure,but where are you from?? Somehow Im thinking Canada since you live near the border...

Have a super day all...................

jillybabes wrote:

Thanks for the bday wishes, actually today is my bday!!!
Long story short, my birth cert says 1/8 but the time was wrong and my Mom never changed it so legally bday was yesterday. I get to celebrate twice!!!
Beautiful day today, sun is shining...
Kathy: Jean is not from Canada, but I will let her tell you where she is from...Later, Jill

So my calendar is right, thanks I thought I was going NUTS.

d

Happy Birthday Jill, two days twice as many presents/cruises.

Jean #2 great news on the interview. Enjoy yourself

Jean #3 hope both your dog and cat are improving.

Okay I am unable to keep everything stright on who is going where, so.............. anyone going somewhere other then the grocery store have a memorable time and safe journey. As for flooded living rooms, I am glad that you are okay and all can be put to rights. Have lived through a few while in Little Rock, AK and it is very scary. Remember putting Audrey who was about 14 months in hall closet with pillows all around her as we had no basement. Sat on the floor outside the small closet praying all would be okay, was pg with son.

Having to cut back deep on my cruises as I am going ahead with remodel on the kitchen still deciding on bathroom and office. I will be going on Monarch Jan 21st (4 night) and again in April. It will also allow me to visit with Vicky (GD) when ship stops in San Diego.

Jul - Thank God you are safe....how scary...saw photos of some places on the news.

Jean - Congrats are your 1/2 citizenship.....OK, we are all dying to know where you are from...

Jill - Hippy Birdy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lord Patti, I like late seating, but that is ridiculous...which ship and what itinerary is that????

Mar

Jean, congrats on being halfway there! I think you'll know way more about how the US is governed than I do by the time you're finished, LOL.

Vision didn't have a lot of hopping entertainment. We ended up in the Some Enchanted Evening lounge (all the way aft where the Colony Club is on Radiance) because they had a good dance band in there quite often. They also had karaoke, which wasn't much to write home about. Rachel Hancock was the best singer of the lot that we heard - she can really belt out a tune! I'd take a cab in Mazatlan. It's not far, but the neighborhood is pretty seedy, and I didn't have a clue where we were going.

Chris, Fido is still distraught over yesterday's abuse - surgery on his ear to remove a hematoma and had his teeth cleaned while he was out. No point in paying twice for the anesthesia which, at $200, was nearly half the bill. Carmen is coming along - her shoulder is getting stronger, but she's still knuckling her bad leg. I think my old gal will be gimpy for the rest of her life, but she's happy and so we can live with that. My stepmother had to put her German Shepherd to sleep yesterday - she was 13, had struggled with a degenerative spine for 2 years and was finally felled by lymphoma. She was a gorgeous dog in ever way.

And Happy Birthday to Jill!

Happy Birthday Jill! My Mom's birthday is today too!

Have a good day!

OK, ladies, I need some help deciding on our Australia/New Zealand trip next year. We were looking at Celebrity (Millenium), RCI (Rhapsody) and Princess (Diamond). We've kind of ruled out Celebrity because we're not quite ready to be that subdued, although the itinerary is pretty interesting - Auckland to Sydney, 7 ports, overnights in Melbourne and Sydney.

Rhapsody also has a neat itinerary - R/T from Sydney, 14 nights, all NZ ports, but she concerns us because of recent reviews that have slammed her - she's taken on a lot of new crew who apparently aren't up to par. On the positive side, our friend, who is currently the Guest Relations Manager on Vision, is leaving in a couple of weeks to take that position on Rhapsody, and she is very good at bringing people up to par.

Diamond Princess has a 12-nighter from Auckland to Sydney, which would give us some time to spend a few days in NA before the cruise and a few days in Sydney after. And we've been on the Diamond and really like the ship. But she has 6 sea days, if you include cruising the NZ fjords, and it seems like a waste to travel all that way and be out to sea, when I am out to SEE, if you know what I mean.

If service didn't make us nervous we'd pick Rhapsody hands down for the itinerary, plus we like the Vision class ships (not as much as Radiance, but they do quite nicely). But service is important and the recent CC reviews make me a little nervous.

A minisuite on the DP would run us about $150 less than a D-1 on Rhapsody (forget the JS; that's another $2k), but then again it's 2 fewer nights.

Ideas? Thanks!

Well, I'm partial to Rhapsody but that's because we sailed her when she was in Galveston. I had heard that there were issues with the crew long before she left there for the Far East. But, I'd still book Rhapsody for the itinerary and keep my fingers crossed in hopes that your friend can get the crew up to speed before you arrive. There's quite a bit I can overlook when it comes to the crew as long as the itinerary is worth it.

d

Well Jean, that is a tough decision! I think I would lean towards Rhapsody, since they have a year to get their act together. But then I think I would pick Millenium as second choice, but that's just cuz I want to try Celebrity some day, and you would still get all your DP perks, wouldn't you?

But what the heck do I know???????

Jill, I've read on Cruise Critic that Celebrity's loyalty program sucks compared to RCI - no balcony discounts, no coupons like we get, no concierges. They really hang their hat on the idea that cruising Celebrity is a huge step above. I want to try them, but don't really want to commit to 14 nights only to find out that we're the liveliest ones on the ship.

We're leaning toward Rhapsody, too, and will probably stick with her unless we hear that Jana was last seen swimming to shore, shrieking, "I CAN'T DO IT!!!!"

Jean- Did you see there is a savings cert for 1/13/09 Rhapsody?




Jen

I did, but we want to use Don's 2008 vacation time to take the trip, so that one is out, at least for now.

critterchick wrote:

Jill, I've read on Cruise Critic that Celebrity's loyalty program sucks compared to RCI - no balcony discounts, no coupons like we get, no concierges. They really hang their hat on the idea that cruising Celebrity is a huge step above. I want to try them, but don't really want to commit to 14 nights only to find out that we're the liveliest ones on the ship.

We're leaning toward Rhapsody, too, and will probably stick with her unless we hear that Jana was last seen swimming to shore, shrieking, "I CAN'T DO IT!!!!"

Jean: It wasn't me that answered you (not yet!!)...My vote would be for Rhapsody also, we do enjoy the vision class ships so as said b4 hopefully Jana will get the crew up to par...Happy Sails
Later, Jill

Afternoon everyone, it has been a very busy two days for us.........more on that later.

First and foremost...................HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL.......wishing you many, many more. Sorry I wasn't around yesterday to give you your greetings..........but if your bc is wrong........guess I'm right on time!

Mar, we are doing a b2b on Splendour leaving out of Valpariso, Chile, sailing to Sao Paulo Brazil. Then staying on the ship and sailing from Sao Paulo to Lisbon Portugal. They are gearing the dining times towards the South Americans.............seems they like to have a siesta in the afternoons. So, I guess the casino will be very quiet between 2 & 5!

Jean, we did Australia/NZ twice on Legend. We did it once sailing from Auckland to Sydney and then the following year did Sydney to Auckland. The second time we stayed in Sydney 4 days pre cruise because the city has so much to see and do. Love the Vision class ship. The JS on Vision are not the same size as the JS on Radiance class and above. They are quite a bit smaller. If I were going I would definitely be going on Rhapsody............and you'll get to sail with the Hurdy Gurdy Kiss Kiss Captain............Capt. Rune Loekling...........unless he's on vacation. The only drawback is the 14.5 hour flight from LA to Sydney or 11.5 hour flight from LA to Auckland. It is not a fun flight.

OK..now on to why we have been busy...............remember the weather that Jul was experiencing two days ago.............well, it arrived here yesterday afternoon. Just wind (the rain came later). I was standing by my kitchen sink looking out at the 30 ft. pine tree that we have between our home and our neighbors. The wind was so strong that Jim and I were watching the tree move and the roots coming up. So, we both went out, looked at it for about 45 minutes trying to decide what to do because if it did get uprooted it was headed right for our neighbors house. I wanted to do one thing, Jim didn't like my idea, so we just stood there and argued while the tree was doing the hula! Our neighbor is a minister, so I think the Good Lord was on our side for once.

Thankfully, our neighbor arrived home and he and Jim secured a rope on it........David our neighbor, sawed the tree and they finally were able to pull it down without any damage to his house. Thank goodness they did that, because we had even stronger winds overnight.

Then the rains came (almost an inch), so today, Jim and I went out and bundled all the limbs up for pick up tomorrow. Too bad this didn't happen in December..........we could have had a live tree for Christmas.

OK, I'm out of breath..............check back later.

Wow...........some weather you had there Patti.............BUT wanna bet it was even worse in another part of Cleveland?? Seriously,glad the guys got the tree down before it fell!! Question for you.how many NEXTCRUISE threads are there?? Jeez..........I think there should be one sticky for it!

My vote is for the Rhapsody........my biggest reason is more credits!!

Wow, Patti! You have been busy! My sister and BIL's friends had their motor home smashed last weekend by a pine tree that fell! So good thing you got it down safely! Stay safe!

I think I am coming down with a cold, I was hoping I wouldn't catch it, but everyone at work has been sick. So I guess it is my turn. I'm taking airborne every 4 hours.
Jen

I just learned today, that there is a new smoking policy on RC, I totally missed that thread!!!

My goodness Patti you and Julie sure have had your share of weather issues.

Take is easy you and LJ sound like you could use a drink!

Have one on me.

d